Best items to sell on amazon fba

Selling online continues to be profitable: Between August 2020 and August 2021, Amazon sellers in the U.S. sold more than 3.8 billion products (that’s 7,400 every minute) and averaged about $200,000 in sales, up year-over-year from about $170,000 (2021 SMB Report).

But how to choose what to sell? With the sheer amount of products out there, it can be a tough call. Here we’ll show you how to dig into the Amazon Best Sellers list to find product ideas. We’ll also walk through some basics on how to get started with your idea and fuel online sales in 2021.

Three steps to discover product ideas

Step 1: Dig into the Best Sellers list

Test the waters with the Amazon Best Sellers list to see if your idea has potential. The Best Sellers list shows the 100 most popular products on Amazon based on sales and is updated hourly. The list shows what people are buying and can aid your product research.

Look for each product’s Best Seller Rank (BSR) to gauge demand for a given product. To research manually in all departments, type product keywords in the Amazon search bar to get page one results.

A good starting point can be to look in the product listing’s Product Information section, find the product’s BSR, and take detailed notes.

Explore product categories and sub-categories

Do a deep dive into the best-selling categories to identify up-and-coming products, spot opportunities, and analyze patterns in a niche that interests you.

For example, you may start with the Kitchen and Dining category, refine to storage and organization items, then narrow it down even further to travel and to-go containers.

Unlock selling opportunities with a variety of Amazon programs

Play to your strengths and develop your selling strategy with a variety of programs made to support your business model:

• Protect your brand and unlock a suite of brand-building tools with Brand Registry.
• Sell handcrafted goods with Amazon Handmade.
• Offer customizable products with Amazon Custom.
• Earn artwork royalties with Merch by Amazon.
• Sell pre-owned products with Amazon Renewed.

Explore these and more add-on options as you find your niche. You can also mix and match programs to grow sales and reach even more customers.

Step 2: Zero in on the products you want to specialize in

There are a lot of products out there. Which ones can be most profitable for your ecommerce business? Give yourself time to explore and try a variety of methods.

Keep an eye on the Movers & Shakers

Updated hourly, the Amazon Movers & Shakers list shows the biggest gainers in sales rank over the last 24 hours.

Click on any category in the list and you can discover:

• The top 100 trending product performers
• How much the sales rank has increased
• Previous rankings for products
• Number of reviews and stars
• Pricing range

Watch Hot New Releases

Do you have an idea for a new product? Check out hourly updates on the Amazon Hot New Releases to research how similar products are performing and get a sense for what type of market may be out there for your idea.

Step 3: Find ways to put your own spin on trending products

When you have your eye on a specific product category or type of product, ask yourself whether you can improve on what’s already selling well—or offer something better. Try these tactics:

• Look for higher demand, lower competition products –You may see products in high demand, but what’s the competition like? The number of reviews can give you an idea. Generally, high-demand products with a lower number of reviews indicate lower competition and an opportunity for you to jump in.
• Use product reviews to guide product improvements –Browse product reviews to get a sense of customer feedback. Write down the pros and cons and look for areas where you can exceed customer expectations by offering something different to meet buyer needs.
• Get creative – Is there something you can do to make a trending product unique? Can the product be sold all year? Could you launch a product of better quality?

Watch: Ten quick tips to help you succeed on Amazon

Seller Tip: Want a window into what customers are looking for right now? Head to the Amazon Most Wished For list.

How to get started with your idea
Even the best product ideas won’t sell successfully online if you run into issues procuring the products, listing them online, or getting them to customers.

If you’re just starting out in ecommerce, be sure to:

• Research affordability and customer demand
• Choose products that are easier to package and ship
• Consider products with a long shelf life
• Think about branding potential
• Avoid products on the restricted products list

Before you decide on products to sell, there are several factors you’ll want to take into consideration. Focus on three key areas in particular: procurement, fulfillment, and listing products.

Procurement: Source your products

After you’ve narrowed down what you want to sell, the next step is to figure out how you’ll source products.

As an ecommerce seller, you have several options. Will you resell existing products? Or maybe you plan to create or build products on your own? Another option is to work with a manufacturer to make products according to your specifications, or produce branded items.

Different procurement methods come along with considerations of their own—learn about some of the ins and outs with our ecommerce business guide.

Watch: Find and source products to sell online

Fulfillment: Consider your shipping options

How will customers get their orders? Amazon sellers have several options for fulfillment, including:

• Merchant Fulfilled (MFN or FBM)
  
  • With this fulfillment method, the seller maintains inventory, packs, and ships orders to customers.
  • Watch: Introduction on how to ship products on your own
• Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA)
  
  • Amazon sellers have the ability to send products to Amazon fulfillment centers where we pick, pack, ship, and provide customer service for those products.
  • With FBA, you can take advantage of specialized services like FBA Small and Light, FBA Subscribe & Save, FBA Pan-EU, FBA Export, or Multi-Channel Fulfillment.
  • Watch: How Fulfillment by Amazon works
• Seller Fulfilled Prime (SFP)
  
  • This Prime program allows Amazon sellers to deliver directly to domestic Prime customers.
  • You can use your own warehouse while earning the Prime badge to increase product visibility.
  • SFP comes along with guaranteed delivery date messaging and other perks. See how to qualify and get started in five steps.

You can mix and match methods to meet your fulfillment needs. For example, you can combine merchant fulfillment with FBA or an Amazon-approved third-party fulfillment solution through the Amazon Partner Network.

Remember, you can always choose one fulfillment solution now and change it later as your needs change. Learn more about fulfillment options and get a strategy checklist with our ecommerce fulfillment guide.

Watch: Ecommerce fulfillment options

Did you know?
Sellers see an average 20-25% increase in sales after adopting FBA. (Source: 2021 SMB Report)
Learn more: Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA)

Improve your ecommerce logistics with the Amazon Partner Network

• Discover Amazon-approved third-party apps and services all in one place with the Seller Central Partner Network. Applications from third-party and Amazon software providers can help you automate pricing, manage inventory, conduct product research, improve customer response time, and more.

Listing: Add products online

The type of listings you create will depend on the products you offer, and small details can make a big difference between listings that perform well and those that don’t. Learn more in this step-by-step guide to optimizing product listings, and read on for the basics.

To start selling products, create a product listing in Seller Central—your go-to resource for selling on Amazon.com.

• Once you create an Amazon seller account, you will automatically gain access to Seller Central.
• If you already have an Amazon seller account, simply sign in with your registered email and password.

To begin listing products, you may choose to match an existing listing or create a new one if there’s no comparable product already in Amazon stores. Learn more in our beginner’s guide to selling on Amazon.

You can list many products online, but some hazardous materials have special requirements. If you want to sell a product, but foresee any issues with listing the products online, you may need to reevaluate your business plan or go back to the drawing board with ideas on what to sell.

Watch: How to list a product on Amazon Seller Central

Pro tips for driving online sales

Have you identified products you might want to sell? Check out these tactics to keep a pulse on metrics and drive sales.

Monitor sales and other metrics

How do you know if you’ve chosen the right products? There’s always room for improvement, so keep an eye on store performance and continually look for opportunities to boost sales.

You can use Seller Central to monitor sales, brand health, customer feedback, and more:

• Monitor your account health and metrics on the brand dashboard.
• Download the Amazon Seller Health Guide.
• Track performance metrics, get sales reports, and track analytics from the Brand Dashboard.
• Stay up to date with notifications.
• Monitor customer feedback and follow best practices to maintain positive feedback and ratings.

Watch: Identify popular products and opportunities using Market Basket Analysis

Experiment with your ecommerce storefront

Think about the products you want to offer, then look for ways you can tweak an ecommerce storefront to help customers connect with the items they’re looking for.

With many free tools at your fingertips, an ecommerce store on Amazon can help protect your brand name, showcase wares, and make it easier to connect with customers. You can build an online store that looks entirely different from the typical Amazon layout with your own Amazon URL.

Once you create a seller account and enroll in Amazon Brand Registry, you can build a store that introduces customers to your brand story and entire product catalog through customized rich media including text, image, and video content.

Give customers a multi-page, immersive experience: Learn more about how to build an online store featuring your brand.

Tailor your marketing and adjust as needed

In the expanding ecommerce space, it takes intention to gain attention. The right ecommerce marketing strategy can help you boost product visibility, improve online conversions, and win repeat purchases and customers.

Effectively marketing products is not a one-and-done activity. Revisit your marketing strategy often and adjust as needed. Learn about eight steps to build a marketing plan plus 15 top ecommerce marketing strategies in this ecommerce marketing guide.

Check the Amazon Best Sellers list often

Are products flying off the shelves and are you looking to scale? Or are you in the initial phase of finding the next breakthrough item?

No matter what stage your ecommerce business is in, it can be a challenge to strike the right balance between sticking with popular products or switching it up with something that might sell even better.

As you weigh your options, don’t hesitate to check back and use the Amazon Best Sellers list. Whether you’re looking to compare profitable niches or diversify product offerings, this resource and the other tips we’ve covered in this article can give you more ideas for boosting online sales.

Looking for more inspiration?

Check out these 38 online business ideas to hear from successful entrepreneurs who turned their passion into thriving businesses.

FAQ

What are some new product ideas?

Selling online has opened up a world of opportunities for entrepreneurs with new product ideas, or even a creative spin on an old idea.

Tracking what is currently trending is a good place to start finding ideas. You can begin by watching what is selling the most, like digging into Amazon’s Best Seller list and the Movers & Shakers list for popular products based on sales, updated hourly.

Need more inspiration? Check out 38 online business ideas from successful entrepreneurs who turned their passion into thriving businesses.

How do I get product ideas?

To find inspiration, try asking yourself:

• What are you passionate about?
• When you look around, what do people need to solve a problem?
• Which types of products are trending and currently popular?
• Could you put your own spin on an existing product and make it better?

Explore what products are selling and see how they rank. Start with the Amazon’s Best Seller list and consult the Movers & Shakers list for popular products based on sales. Then, dig deeper into product categories and subcategories.

What are some new products in 2021?

Amazon’s Hot New Releases list shows best-selling new and future product releases, updated hourly. You can also keep an eye on Amazon’s Best Seller list and the Movers & Shakers list for popular products based on sales.

What products are in high demand?

You can tell what products are in high demand by looking at sales. When you see a product rise in sales rank, it means customers are buying and the products are rising in popularity.

Check out Amazon’s Best Seller list and the Movers & Shakers list for popular products based on sales and rank. These lists are updated hourly because they can change quickly, so keep checking back.

How do I get products for my business?

It’s important to not only choose the right product, but also choose the right source for products. A few options could include:

• Creating or building products, like those in Amazon Handmade
• Reselling existing products
• Working with a manufacturer to produce items

Learn more about how you can sell branded products.

What if every idea I get for a product is already out there?

You may be drawn to certain products you feel passionate about, but remember you also want the capacity to grow and become profitable. If your ideas seem to always be out there already, don’t give up. Keep digging for inspiration.

Ask yourself:

• How could I improve on what is already selling well?
• Is there something I can do to make a trending product uniquely mine?
• Can this product be sold all year?
• Is there a product I could launch that would be better quality or more creative than what I’m seeing?

Learn more: Follow these steps to start your ecommerce business

How do I find a manufacturer for my product idea?

The Amazon Seller Central Partner Network is a one-stop shop for your business on Amazon. Here, you can discover Amazon-approved third-party apps and services all in one place to help you automate, manage, and grow your business.

Watch: Guide to finding and sourcing products to sell

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